by Marcus Sloss
I immediately had a popup in my eye display. The amount of data on this ship was staggering. As I poured over it and tried to dive deeper into each section I realized a lot of the information was restricted. Mila patiently waited as I played with the menus and sub menus.
“No that one right there, the translator is not perfect. Navigo is the right menu… Yes, that one. Select it.” She said to me. I did not know how she was able to view my screens but she clearly was. Another thing to talk about later.
“Okay, I see a very confusing map of the universe. Oh, I think I got it.” I said to try on my own before she guided me. The map clustered the stars in galaxies, then sections. I found the Orion grouping. It was not the Orion arm or spur I was expecting, and I figured the group title worked. I found the Gould belt and then located Versi. I knew how to find it first from astronomy class. I then dialed into Alpha Centauri and slid over to earth. “Found Earth. So I selected the space outside the busy section of incoming and outgoing travel. I see the drop down menu for commencing wormhole transit. How do I clear our arrival with Earth?”
That odd lancer chuckle escaped her until she keeled over in a fit of laughter. “You forget you are no simple human anymore, you do not ask for permission. You do what you want. Even with me indentured to you I am still far elevated in status of your Emperor Linus. Hit the commence button and let us move onto exploring the Griffin.”
I hit the commence button, it gave me travel time estimate at (minimal), (cruise), (optimal), and (accelerated) speeds. I choose optimal and a countdown of two days and two hours started. Perfect, I could get back to Earth, get organized, and figure out where to go next. Things were already looking up and I had not even started exploring this luxury yacht. For that is what it was.
My stomach rumbled and growled. I should have ordered more shakes before I left. “Food first Mila,” I said.
A new blue line illuminated and since there was no rush we strolled on the path. I was able to absorb my surroundings more thoroughly than simple glances. Unlike the pristine hallways of the lancer’s flagship that had a never ending supply of priceless artifacts and paintings. This ship had been stripped of all the valuables. The stands, inlays, and outlines of previous items were as prevalent as the empty space.
“I hope you like decorating,” I muttered. There was so much barren space in the short distance we had traveled that I knew it would take a mountain of effort to stylize this ship.
“One, you need to realize even with these tiny ears I have amazing hearing. There will be no sly comments you can slip by me. Also if we are going to be in a relationship of sorts you need to know a bit more about me.” She slowed our walk and faced me. It seemed for once she was being serious so I let it slide that my stomach was saying some very rude things about her. “This stays between us, if I decide to tell your lover about my abilities then I will tell her. I think any lancer will support me in that request. Understood?”
“I get the severity of what you are about to disclose, and on my honor, I will hold your secrets. Want a contract?” I asked.
“Again… you are not dealing with a human when you interact with me. Your honor has been recorded and is on the record.”
“Fantastic. Let us walk and talk then, my stomach is saying this is not more important than food. How about we compromise and talk while we eat. Yes!!! See it was right here.” I saw the blue arrow fold into an open doorway.
“I guess I am famished as well. New bodies tend to do that… Requesting excess food and liquids for the first few weeks. I remember some course hundreds of years ago when I was young. It is a mix of the mites populating and your brain fighting your new body. I know my old body required more nourishment than this tiny frame does. So I am hungry from that too. I can’t tell if they made you bigger or smaller because of how drastic my change is. I can pull up your old data through and compare… you are ten centimeters taller, five kilos heavier, and oh my… We won’t discuss your penis” Mila said while looking up at me, her face blushing a shade of pink that matched her some of her stripes.
“Trust me, I know. I got bigger and wider. No idea why. Actually, I think I do.” I came to a conclusion with a decisive finger pointed into the air. “If I was to design you as a male lancer I would give you a bigger penis, I think all guys secretly would select that option.”
“You wouldn’t dare… Ugh, I shudder to think. It is far more common for males to turn female than the other way. I should not discuss such private things openly though. The food processor is right here. Have you eaten since you were revived?” She asked as a touch screen menu populated.
I watched her select three things of fish with a side of boiled eggs. There was a shimmy, a buzz, and then the standard ding that I was not expecting. The machine produced chef quality food in moments and I am amused by the bell ringing. She grabbed her tray of steaming fish and soft eggs that wafted in a peculiar odor. Normally I may have been offended but I was so hungry I almost snatched a bite off her plate.
As I approached the touch screen it populated some foods I might desire. There was a chicken type bird, yup one of those is going into my belly. There was an option for a big bowl of fried rice with vegetables. Nailed a thumb on that one fast. Then I selected a milkshake that was strawberry flavored. The machine repeated its shimmy, buzz, and pinged at me. I swiped my tray off the processor and studied the room as I walked to Mila.
There was seating for three dozen at least here. The majority of the tables had a platform and a low to the ground hovering bucket for seating. Mila’s hovered a few extra centimeters higher adjusting for her size. There was a standing bar area, and then a separate cooking station for an actual chef. On that back wall were some doors that indicated the storage of specific foods and preparation utensils. Everything was colored in a crisp white and illuminated almost too brightly as it was apt to reflect. I stood still for a moment and tried to figure out how to dim the lights.
“Not that menu, back out. Ship. Now dining. Not adjustments, which is how you adjust all the furniture and stations in here. Settings, lighting, and then use the slider.” Mila guided me.
“This is going to take some getting used to. We had so few things to manage we could simply think dim lights and it would work.” I slid the lights down to about seventy percent and my eyes thanked me.
“Well, your technology is meant for you. See, watch.” The lights went bright then dark and back. At the same time, the lights were in flux furniture started to shift and morph into different layouts. It became a tad chaotic and I raced for my seat.
“Point taken, maybe with time I can improve. Do you want to say a prayer to the maker or any gods?” I asked
“Clearly I do not. I am already on my second fish, you humans are so strange sometimes.”
The seat I went to occupy hovered until my butt was placed at the perfect height for me to eat at the table. We munched, chewed, and one of us smacked our lips as we ate. I would be hesitant to take her out if she normally ate like this but she did mention she was famished. The plates were cleaned and I concealed a belch. Mila giggled and ripped a burp out.
“Ah, that was perfect. We will have to be mindful of our supplies and find a place to stock up after Earth. We will go over that tomorrow, we were interrupted earlier by our hunger. I will get us some dessert while you finish. A small flavored yogurt okay?” She asked as she left the table.
“Sounds great,” I managed between gulps of my milkshake. I had eaten so fast my tummy was starting to get upset. I tipped the last of the shake back and then rubbed my belly gently.
“This yogurt will sooth your tummy, special lancer recipe. So where were we? Right our senses. As you can deduce we have a unique ability to smell more than mere odors in the air. Secret inbound! You have been warned to not disclose, especially to your stepfather.” She scooped a tiny spoonful of her yogurt as she paused and fed it to me. I raised an eyebrow and let her get away with it for now. I wanted to know this damn secret. “We can sm
ell lies, half-truths, and obscured deceits. Of course, our own kind knows this and are masters of off scenting. So it rarely works amongst us, but stick us in a room with humans. You fuckers… yeah, that term works here, it is an intense lancer swear swapped for an intense human one. Well, you beings light up a room with falsehoods of all sorts. I even saw your little sister radiated some lies.”
I raised my eyebrows at this and smacked the table giving Mila a startle. “That is why you both sought me out so directly. I was an outlier instead of the norm. I try to be that, no correction… I strive to be that. Honesty has gotten me so far in life that lies never could have. Including right here. Also, no more spoon feeding me, let us continue with your informing me of what to expect being around you. After we will go over some ground rules.” I said as I rejected her next spoonful with a palm.
“Our eyes are reliant on our technology. This provides us with complete night vision, access to hundreds of layers of information, and much more. It will take you a long time to become fluid with our eye language as we term it. Next, you know I am older… Well, I had mood issues on our birth control, so I will get bitchy and irritable on occasion. Fret not it is only one week every quarter but I warned you in advance. Before you decide to set ground rules for me, I will keep the teasing and flirting to a minimum. I know you did design this body to be more appealing to you, but we both are not interested even if we play like it. I promise not to tease you too badly in front of your mate or mates.” Mila said while patting my back as if I were a toddler.
“Only the one lovely lady for me. Then that settles the ground rules. You want to talk about Varnn being permed?”
“Not really, he was a rude jerk, and that is me trying to speak no evil of the dead. My life is better off without him. It does bind me to you though. I have no way to gamble anymore, so in a way, I got the help I needed. Oh… I love shopping but that four million will go fast. How about we brainstorm some money making ideas outside of wagering?”
“To start I want to sell this data that is not restricted to Emperor Linus. I bet he would gobble all this information up at a great rate.” I said feeling proud of myself. Mila frowned and I eased off on my confidence.
“Okay, valid plan, easy to execute, and will bring in some income. Not a lot though. You human… had to look it up. E-bits, meh, us lancers have little room to complain of dumb currency names when we use the Onatics D-coins - I preferred the old digicoins. Anyway, think about this. We can only suck so much E-bits into D-coins before the valuation plummets. So yes sell some data convert some funds, keep the ship running, and buy extra food. It won’t cover clones though. Or be enough to launch a thriving business or buy one. There is also the factor you will want your mate to be cloned. Assuming she contracts to you, which come on, how could she not?”
“Your right I didn’t think about that. I assume it is not cheap. If it was one hundred and eight plus to clone you…” She interrupted what I was saying.
“Emperor’s discount. Last time Varnn killed me it was three hundred and twelve. With your mass and unique frame clones will add up quickly. You should get another combat unit. Varnn would still be alive if he had been in his combat clone. We can’t have you dying because you are being cheap. Okay, this is what I recommend.
“We go to Earth, sell some data, and secure your family or at least warn them. Your status has gone from lowly human to a vaulted human marked by the Emperor. It is a much bigger deal than you realize. On topic though, we then leave Earth and check out the local stage four and stage five markets. See what is in demand around your systems and try to set up a business. Utilize your access to cheap human labor. With my connections and your connections we should be able to get a couple of things going.” Mila was animatedly talking with her paws while she devised the plan.
I liked it, and it covered most of what I needed to accomplish. You never knew what could change in a few days though.
“That yogurt did calm my tummy. I think the plan is great, let us open a business but figure out first what that company should focus on. Plus we can shop for essentials while researching and who knows, may even find some nice decorations. Anything is better than all this sterile white. People, well humans, tend to talk more when you give them money too. Kind of hard to be a good asshole salesman with a mediocre product.
“Time to explore this ship and start building a generic map. It will help whoever we take onboard. How about we start with the bedrooms?” I said and rose from the table. A bot scurried out from a closet and swept our trays up while another cleaned our mess. “Efficient little guys. Faster than human made ones.”
Two blue lines gave us a general direction to follow. For a stretch of walking there was silence. When we arrived at the first room I gasped and she chuckled.
“I had a feeling we would find something like this.” She purred.
I gave her a weird look as I took in the room. There was a large circular bed, bigger than either of the rooms I have lived in. It could fit ten or more lancers. Probably twenty humans. There was an open facing three walled glass shower with multiple spray heads from various angles. Besides, that was a hot tub about half the size of the bed. It bubbled, swirled, and I swore it was pleading with me to go in. I resisted the urge though. All that was in the back of the expansive room. At the front was a minibar that was fully stocked with unknown liquors and snacks. On the right of the foyer area was a hanging place for clothes and cubbies for items brought in. In the middle sat a large rectangular wooden meeting table that could seat two dozen. Two larger chairs faced the others at the end of the table. Once again I noticed all the decorations and prized possessions were removed. At least the ship had food and drink. They could have left us without supplies… I bet we were charged for it. I looked up our birthing fee and sure enough, it was on the tab.
“The Emperor, and yes I know it is two lancers refereed into a single form. Well, they were known to indulge. The other room will be a replica of this one. I heard they even had mastered the barb removal without residual pain.” Mila said as her eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Barb removal?”
“I cannot believe I got my torturous brother killed and now I get to room like an Emperor!!!” She said in a jump of excitement, then calmed herself and rubbed her hands in happiness. “Yeah, the barbs… Wait do you not know?” She asked and I shrugged. “Oh, male cats have barbed cocks. They can remove the barbs but then it is extremely painful for them when they grow back. You can use a desensitizer to avoid the pain but then you remove the pleasure. It is why you will find female lancers with other species. Not making a pass or a suggestion, just referencing if the Emperors found a workaround that would be one party you could endlessly sign me up for.”
She purred loudly as her mind drifted. I left her there stuck in her imagination and walked to the next bedroom. It was a duplicate. Everything the exact same. The Emperor sure knew how to live, I wondered if Starla would be as impressed as we were.
I opened the ship's menu again to try to find another room. Mila crept up on me and spooked me with a “Boo” while I was focused. “There are no other rooms. Either you were trusted enough to sleep with the Emperor or you slept elsewhere. There was no in between. It makes sense really. They have been murdered a lot, in many different ways. I would get a bit paranoid too. Let us go see what else there is.”
“Exercise room?” I asked hoping it would be able to fit my body needs.
“Oh, I doubt you will find a pod to sleep in here. I know you humans keep fit by machine while you sleep. While completely allowed we tend to not utilize the practice, at all really. So there will be an extensive gym.” She said with a smile as an illuminating blue light displayed where to go. “And there is our pathing light. Shall we?”
It was clear the idea of having her own private luxurious room had cheered her up. We slowly waltzed down the hallway and checked out most of the doors we passed. A few contained bots, a few held supplies, and we passed an engine room.
It was restricted access. I saw that more and more as we passed the core systems of the ship. We passed the dining hall and then the navigation room. I found a large conference room that held slanted seating and a lecture platform. Probably for when the Emperor had to speak to large groups. There was a small fish tank, aqua farm, and soiled plants. The little section helped generate food and recycle waste.
We finally arrived at the gym. An extensive work out area was a fit description. There was a meandering multi-tiered track that looked to be miles long. There were stop off spots with numerous types of weight machines. A wide expansive warm up and stretching area or you could do yoga. A variety of free weights and training balls gave me pause.
“I take it you never lose gravity in this ship?” I asked with concern. Nothing was tied down or secured in any way.
“I can check, that is probably not restricted. Correct there never has and never will be an issue. The gravity is self contained and requires no outside input that can fail. Come follow me” Mila said and led me up the track. We went up thirty meters and when I looked behind me I saw a massive swimming pool.
“Does it go deep? This must be over the rest of the ship. It is brilliant, it doubles as a water supply.” I asked wanting to jump right in and go swimming. I decided I would and stripped down naked. After our talk earlier I saw Mila avert her eyes.
“It goes five meters, which is more than enough. Our species learned long ago that while the energy shield is great and helpful, it can fail. There are actually five meters of water enclosing all the living space. It provides a buffer to any damage that may get past the shields and outer hull. I wish there was more information but for now, enjoy your swim. I am going to run a few laps then sleep off this food. How about breakfast tomorrow morning? Until then study, learn and have some fun. Have a good evening Mack.”
I gave her a thumbs up for breakfast and a wave goodbye. I was a tad surprised she did not leap at the opportunity to get naked. Maybe it was a feline around a large body of water thing. Or she could be respecting each other boundaries and was serious about the teasing being for fun. Time would tell. I swam a dozen long laps. When I exited Mila was gone, and I shimmied back into my spacesuit wet. I would need to find towels or an air dry station. I decided not to run wet and went to my room.
